ACARA Years 3-6

Story·Emmy J. X. Wong, age 12 — A Maine family transforms their seafood restaurant into a tropical paradise when a nor'easter threatens to cancel the parents' long-awaited twentieth anniversary honeymoon to the Bahamas.

Story·Isabel Sutter, age 12 — Two sisters race across neighboring lawns, the older rediscovering the pure joy of running barefoot through grass on a summer day.

Story·Erin Cadora, age 11 — After her father's death, a girl moves repeatedly with her family until discovering abandoned baby mice in their new backyard gives her purpose and healing.

Poetry·Eden A. Marish Roehr, age 9 — A child's ocean memories with parents transform into longing as music triggers dreams of returning to those carefree moments of jumping waves together.

Poetry·Anna Elizabeth Blech, age 12 — A gondola ride on a New York lake at dusk becomes a meditation on the city's transformation as day turns to night, ending with the gondolier's Italian song.

Story·Rebecca Vanneman, age 11 — A girl savors her last day at a beloved Massachusetts beach before moving away, swimming in cold waves and watching sunset with her younger brother.

Story·Alison Buick, age 13 — A young ballet dancer auditions for Odette in Swan Lake, loses to her rival Michelle, but gets to perform when Michelle injures her ankle during opening night.

Poetry·Wujun Ke — A poem traces the transition from pre-dawn silence through the first bird's call to full morning chorus as day breaks.

Story·Adrienne Hohensee, age 10 — Two competitive students challenge each other at chin-ups in a rain-soaked park, pushing past their limits to discover something beyond winning.

Story·Emmy J. X. Wong, age 12 — A twelve-year-old girl struggles with her widowed father's engagement to Jessica, fearing the loss of their special bond, until the wedding ceremony reveals she's being invited into a new family,...